The Life and Chronicles of an ANBU Agent
by Saphira98
Summary: An in depth look into the life of an ANBU agent. WARNING: Contains extreme violence and possible triggers. Read at your own risk.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story may or may not continue. Honestly, I wrote this one evening while listening to some music late at night. ANBU life intrigues me, especially because I can't seem to find much written on it in depth; this will** _ **not**_ **be a love story.**

 **This Fan Fiction or collection of drabbles is** _ **very**_ **mature in violence. It's rated M for a reason.**

 **Feedback is appreciated, as always, and I would love to receive any questions or curiosities on the subject of ANBU to elaborate in later chapters.**

 **Edited by Orion's Prodigy**

 _Ah…Finally… Peace and quiet…_

The wind caressed her flushed cheeks and fingered through her hair, making stray violet locks dance and tangle; with the breeze came the smell of musky dirt and forest, of pine and rain. It rustled through the trees, familiar and wonderful on the woman's abused ears.

However, when the cool gust brought the smell of rust and salt, she was reminded of her leg, and returned to tending the glistening gash; it didn't hurt, but then, nothing ever did. Hana never felt pain, and that was what made her the best of the best.

 _I need to be more observant… If Hokage-sama_ _hadn't pointed out the blood…_

A sigh escaped her pale lips, and she tied off some bandages, stuffing the extra away in her pouch; she should have been home, resting, cleaning out her fridge. But she didn't want to, not now.

Another sigh, fingers brushing the slick, black tattoo on her arm, and then she was gone; blurring through the trees, so fast that no untrained eye could see, the natural speed for the woman.

 _No, not_ _a woman… A_ _machine; cold, hard, mechanical_ _steel…_

Hana slipped through her window, dropping silently on her feet and closed the window.

 _I should still have instant ramen in the cupboards…_

Slowly, she moved around the house habitually; kick shoes off by door, hang mask and armor, let hair down, shuffle to kitchen. Open the cupboard above the sink, boil some water, pour into ramen, consume after precisely two minutes.

With this routine, she slowly regained her emotions, and knew it was coming; she had just enough time to eat before the dam broke and water flooded from her eyes, guilt and remorse coursing through her veins as the family she'd destroyed played behind her eyes.

" _ **Mama, can I go play outside?" a beautiful girl, age five, freckles dusting her cheeks with sparking blue eyes,**_ __ _ **squeaked, tugging on the older version of herself.**_

" _ **In the back, Kiki. Be careful," the woman smiled gently, stroking the girl's hair gently. "Daddy will be home soon, and then we're leaving."**_

" _ **Okay!"**_

 _ **All of this,**_ __ _ **she**_ __ _ **watched from her perch; an oak tree this time, hidden in dense leaves,**_ __ _ **a light**_ __ _ **rushing gently**_ __ _ **through them.**_ __ _ **She**_ __ _ **could see**_ __ _ **Nobugunda**_ __ _ **walking down the road, almost home; he was jittery, watchful. He knew he was going to die.**_

 _ **But not before his family; orders were orders.**_

 _ **Tensing, waiting, her eyes zeroed in on the child as she twirled around the yard, giggling, heading for the base of the old oak. But now, the child was not a human; it was a baby bird, so weak and fragile, and**_ __ _ **Azara**_ __ _ **was**_ __ _ **a**_ __ _ **starving**_ __ _ **predator.**_

 _ **A quick glance was all it took to make sure it was clear; she jackknifed out of the foliage just as the chick stepped on the transparent 'x'. One hand covered her mouth, stuffing the scream back down her throat, the other wrapping around a blonde crown, grabbing hold, and jerk sharply to the right. Only two seconds passed.**_

 _ **The body went limp, and**_ __ _ **Azara**_ __ _ **blurred to the rooftop, prowling along the edge, waiting for the mother hen to walk out.**_

 _ **She did, smiling gently at the dead bird, thinking it was in a deep slumber, and walked towards her; she made it no more than five steps before a hand covered her maw. A flash of silver, slicing deep and quick, tore open her throat, a beautiful spray of red spurting forth as her lips parted in a voiceless cry.**_

 _ **Moving fast now, she leaped up onto the roof once more, and weightlessly glided up to the baby's window; it was so innocent.**_

 _ **Sky blue and bubble-gum pink covered the walls, a plush white carpet, toy chests off to one side, and a changing station on the other; a pristine, white crib was nestled in the middle of the room, a canopy of silk hanging over head.**_

 _ **A newborn lay nestled in pink blankets, smiling and gurgling up at**_ __ _ **Azara's**_ __ _ **mask, clutching a small bear; the smile on its face was rather ironic. Her hand flashed out at the small cub, driving a dagger right through its chest; the light slowly faded from milky blue eyes, breath wheezing softly, the body going cold.**_

 _ **Again,**_ __ _ **Azara**_ __ _ **moved quickly, prowling down the stairs and slipping into the eldest son's room; he was snoring, a porn magazine resting on his face;**_ __ _ **Azara**_ __ _ **easily killed him, noting vaguely that her human side was thankful for not seeing his face.**_

" _ **Wh-what-You!"**_

 _ **She felt pressure on the back of her thigh, and saw the**_ __ _ **dagger**_ __ _ **tip sticking out the top of her trousers, blood welling up and then darkening the surrounding fabric.**_

 _ **Her eyes**_ __ _ **narrowed**_ __ _ **as she stood, turning around and pulling the dagger free.**_

" _ **Nobugunda."**_ __ _ **Her voice was like ice, frigid and steely, uncaring, unfeeling, inhuman.**_

 _ **With satisfaction, she watched as fear and pain welled up in the man's eyes, just like the crimson blood welling up from his dagger, protruding from his chest, perfectly through the heart.**_

 _ **As he fell, she caught him, making him fall to his knees and wrapping his hand around the hilt, and then let him drop forward limply.**_

" _ **You just killed your family,**_ __ _ **Nobugunda. And now you killed yourself."**_

 _ **Azara**_ __ _ **added a few touches before leaving; a suicide note, a bloody katana that had been on display in the living room.**_

 _ **And then she did what she does best; disappear.**_

She gasped, forcing her eyes wide open as she fell to her knees, clutching herself tightly; shame, guilt, self-hatred, and many more emotions ripped through her, a tornado in her skin and bones, breaking the woman from the inside out. A heart-wrenching sob left her lips, and she collapsed utterly, just crying, feeling, until finally, thankfully, mercifully, the numbness drilled into her bones took over.

Even machines break down.


	2. Chapter 2 - Animal Mask

**A/N: There are going to be lots of different writing styles- I'm sort of making it into a record/diary of an ANBU.**

 **Reviews are always appreciated!**

 **Chapter 2 - Animal Masks**

 _ **Many would like to think that there is a special, personal reason connecting ANBU masks.**_

 _ **There isn't.**_

 _ **ANBU is broken into seven branches, each named after an animal; the Falcon Division, the Owl Division, Bear Division, Cat Division, Frog Division, Wolf Division, and the Dragon Division. The mask worn by ANBU serve as a simple denotation of their area of specialization, of what division they are from.**_

 _ **The Falcon Division are the hunter-nin; they dispose of enemy ninja, especially those in he Bingo Book.**_

 _ **The Owl Division is the reconnaissance division, working from the shadows to retrieve vital information.**_

 _ **The Bear Division protect the village; they are the best defense the village could have.**_

 _ **The Cat Division specializes in assassination; it differs from the Falcon Division in that ANBU Cats hunt down daimyos, kages, and other powerful enemies to the village as generally political threats.**_

 _ **The Frog Division contain the combat medics; they can protect themselves, but their main purpose is to heal fellow ANBU agents on accompanying missions.**_

 _ **The Wolf Division interrogates and tortures; they get information fast and by any means necessary. They know just as much about the human body as the Frog Division.**_

 _ **Lastly, the Dragon Division runs all other divisions; they organize and gather agents for missions and report into the village kage. They have silver tongues, working as ambassadors at times; very few are selected for the job, as they must be able to defend themselves well enough to always come back, keep a level head, and still maintain moral capabilities.**_

 _ **The Village Hidden in the Leaves also had and extra, sub branch run by Danzo called "The Foundation" or "Root". These agents, such as Itachi Uchiha, were sent on missions that Danzo believed would benefit the village, but were usually morally corrupt. These agents in particular were trained to unquestioningly follow the man's orders, made to abandon all emotions, and had a seal on the backs of their tongues that prevented them from ever speaking of Root.**_

 _ **The Seven Main Divisions obviously often worked together; some common teams would be Falcon, Frog, and Owl, or Frog and Wolf, and often times Falcon and Wolf. Whatever the pairing, their skill sets were matched to the mission, ensuring that it went smoothly.**_

 _ **Without Divisions, it would be incredibly difficult to form a successful team per mission, and there would be no structure to the ranks of the agents.**_

 _ **As far as code names go, team leaders generally took on the name of their division, while squad members either used the names of their own divisions or a closely related animal; sometimes it was a more personal choice, but it didn't quite matter.**_

 _ **Should a team leader wish to stand out slightly from his or her group, they were given white capes to wear along with their usual uniforms.**_

 _ **The mask is just another part of the uniform; it serves as the only indication of identity for an ANBU, while at the same time giving them something to hide behind.**_


	3. Chapter 3 - Family

**Chapter 3 – Family**

 _ **Family. It's an uncommon word in ANBU.**_

 _ **For one, most of us do not have families, like myself; we were orphans, our parents having died in the war or of a disease. Orphanages are not fun, homey places, as they like people to think; it's cold, hungry, disappointing, and strict.**_

 _ **For this reason, many of us do not speak about our chaotic pasts, and no one asks.**_

 _ **For us, ANBU**_ **is** _ **our family. Perhaps not the family we dreamed of, but a family we've come to love passionately with fierce loyalty.**_

 _ **However, sometimes it is different; though rare and far in between, some agents have their families, kids, a wife, maybe even a dog. They enter ANBU ignorantly; yes, they know what we do, the dark horrors that go on behind the scenes. But they have not realized it, lived it.**_

 _ **Knowing and living ANBU are two very, very different things.**_

 _ **These agents are usually the ones who last short periods of time, perhaps two years at the most; they choose to return to the normal Shinobi force, back into a life in which they may look upon their child without seeing the one they killed the night before.**_

 _ **ANBU is harsh, unforgiving, cold,**_ **numbing** _ **.**_

 _ **All things one cannot be in a family.**_


	4. Chapter 4 - Feelings

**Chapter 4 – Feelings**

 _ **Being an ANBU agent does not automatically erase your feelings. In fact, it is literally impossible to do so.**_

 _ **Turning them off, though, is a skill we all must master; you cannot have sympathy when killing the wife of an enemy, cannot hesitate when given a clear shot, cannot breakdown in the middle of a mission.**_

 _ **We must lock away these feelings, cage them in the darkest corner of our minds, and block them out until our mission is complete.**_

 _ **Those who return home, be it to the barracks or an apartment, tend to hang onto the numbness for a few more hours. It is so much better than the crash that comes afterwards, and leaves you shattered, alone, only to pick up your own pieces and put yourself together again, going into work to do it all over again.**_

 _ **ANBU agents know best of all: feeling hurts.**_

 _ **When you stop feeling, stop shattering in the middle of the night,**_ __that _ **is when you leave; because if you don't, you'll become the shell of a human, breathing, eating, killing with no love, no sympathy, no pain.**_

 _ **And that is**_ __not __ _ **worth being ANBU. I would know.**_


End file.
